Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
-
- Arts and Humanities (676)
- Political Science (467)
- Education (463)
- Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration (374)
- History (328)
-
- Race and Ethnicity (312)
- Civic and Community Engagement (303)
- Psychology (302)
- Gender and Sexuality (301)
- Politics and Social Change (285)
- Economics (271)
- Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies (242)
- Inequality and Stratification (241)
- International and Area Studies (233)
- Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (220)
- Social Justice (199)
- Business (188)
- Medicine and Health Sciences (182)
- Criminology (174)
- Community-Based Learning (168)
- Law (166)
- Anthropology (163)
- Family, Life Course, and Society (155)
- Community-Based Research (152)
- Educational Sociology (151)
- Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies (132)
- Communication (130)
- Religion (115)
- Institution
-
- University of Texas at Arlington (138)
- Brigham Young University (88)
- Cal Poly Humboldt (80)
- Nova Southeastern University (71)
- College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University (61)
-
- Technological University Dublin (60)
- City University of New York (CUNY) (56)
- Clemson University (54)
- University of New Hampshire (47)
- Universitas Indonesia (44)
- Singapore Management University (42)
- Virginia Commonwealth University (41)
- Portland State University (38)
- Old Dominion University (37)
- University of Massachusetts Boston (36)
- University of North Alabama (36)
- Chapman University (34)
- University of Nebraska - Lincoln (34)
- University of Central Florida (33)
- Edith Cowan University (32)
- Valparaiso University (32)
- Illinois State University (29)
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (27)
- University of Rhode Island (27)
- Walden University (27)
- Prairie View A&M University (25)
- St. Mary's University (25)
- University of Denver (25)
- Utah State University (23)
- Antioch University (22)
- Keyword
-
- Education (34)
- University of North Alabama (34)
- University of North Alabama history (34)
- Leadership on campus (33)
- Miss UNA Pageant (33)
-
- Pageants in Alabama (33)
- Scholarships (33)
- Mental health (29)
- Gender (26)
- Migration (25)
- Immigration (24)
- Miss America Pageant (24)
- Miss Alabama Pageant (23)
- Capitalism (22)
- Rural (20)
- Social media (20)
- Women (20)
- Artificial intelligence (19)
- Intersectionality (19)
- Qualitative research (19)
- Race (19)
- Leadership (18)
- Criminal justice (17)
- Higher education (17)
- Identity (17)
- Religion (17)
- COVID-19 (16)
- Resilience (16)
- Sociology (16)
- United States (16)
- Publication
-
- Fast Capitalism (136)
- CouRaGeouS Cuentos: A Journal of Counternarratives (73)
- The Qualitative Report (59)
- Theses and Dissertations (58)
- The Journal of Social Encounters (55)
-
- Journal of Youth Development (47)
- International Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Conferences (43)
- Comparative Civilizations Review (40)
- Documents (34)
- Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education (33)
- Midwest Social Sciences Journal (32)
- Research outputs 2022 to 2026 (32)
- Electronic Theses and Dissertations (28)
- New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium (27)
- Dissertations (25)
- The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc. (25)
- Journal of Nonprofit Innovation (23)
- Antioch University Dissertations & Theses (22)
- Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects (22)
- Honors Theses (22)
- Posters - 2026 (22)
- Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies (22)
- Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence (21)
- Research Collection School of Social Sciences (21)
- Journal of Global Catholicism (19)
- University Honors Theses (18)
- The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters (17)
- UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones (16)
- Masters Theses (15)
- Honors Undergraduate Theses (14)
- Publication Type
- File Type
Articles 331 - 360 of 2261
Full-Text Articles in Sociology
Exploring Rural Culture And Gambling Harm Among Young Adults In Central Appalachia, Noah S. Anderson, James P. Whelan, Meredith K. Ginley
Exploring Rural Culture And Gambling Harm Among Young Adults In Central Appalachia, Noah S. Anderson, James P. Whelan, Meredith K. Ginley
Appalachian Student Healthcare Research Review
Background: Gambling-related harms are increasing among young adults, yet limited research has examined how rural cultural identity shapes gambling engagement and associated harms. Appalachia is a predominantly rural region with distinct cultural values, limited behavioral health access, and increasing exposure to legalized and informal gambling opportunities.
Purpose: This study examined whether Appalachian self-identification and affective states are associated with gambling engagement and gambling-related harm among college students residing in central Appalachia.
Methods: Participants were 395 undergraduate students recruited from a central Appalachian public university who completed an online survey assessing Appalachian self-identification, gambling engagement, gambling-related symptom severity (Problem Gambling Severity …
Market Rate Survey & Narrow Cost Analysis: 2026 Worksheet, Nh Department Of Health And Human Services
Market Rate Survey & Narrow Cost Analysis: 2026 Worksheet, Nh Department Of Health And Human Services
New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium
Child care providers in New Hampshire can use this worksheet to gather the information they will need to complete the 2026 Market Rate Survey and Narrow Cost Analysis. Not all questions may be relevant to each program. All questions should be answered with information current as of September 15, 2026.
Coming Fall 2026: Complete The Market Rate Survey, Nh Department Of Health And Human Services
Coming Fall 2026: Complete The Market Rate Survey, Nh Department Of Health And Human Services
New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium
No abstract provided.
Following Through Dialogues: A Chinese Scholar’S Reminiscence Of Professor Liah Greenfeld, Xinqi Jia
Following Through Dialogues: A Chinese Scholar’S Reminiscence Of Professor Liah Greenfeld, Xinqi Jia
Comparative Civilizations Review
Ordinarily, a Chinese teacher of ethics who had never set foot in a Western country before the age of forty and a Jewish-American sociologist born in the former Soviet Union would have no reason to cross paths. Yet, throughout 2010, they spent an entire year in Boston in close contact. Should anyone someday write a biography of the late Professor Liah Greenfeld, this story alone would be excellent material for exploring how her theory has influenced the world, and how, as an outstanding theorist, she continually expanded the boundaries of our understanding of it.
Liah Greenfeld On Antisemitism As A Defining Characteristic Of The Monotheistic Civilization, Efraim Karsh
Liah Greenfeld On Antisemitism As A Defining Characteristic Of The Monotheistic Civilization, Efraim Karsh
Comparative Civilizations Review
One cannot overstate the scholarly and intellectual loss occasioned by the untimely death of Boston University Professor Liah Greenfeld. Through her prodigious interdisciplinary research, Professor Greenfeld has established herself as one of the foremost social science theorists of our time and a worthy heir to the great firstgeneration nationalism scholars, in particular Eric Hobsbawm, Ernest Gellner, and Anthony Smith.
Was Love Invented In Sixteenth-Century England? A Few Comments On Liah Greenfeld’S Theory Of Emotions, Dmitri Panchenko
Was Love Invented In Sixteenth-Century England? A Few Comments On Liah Greenfeld’S Theory Of Emotions, Dmitri Panchenko
Comparative Civilizations Review
According to Liah Greenfeld, there are three kinds of emotions. Primary emotions (such as pain, pleasure, fear, positive and negative excitement, hunger, and satiation) and secondary emotions (such as affection, sorrow, and anger) can be observed in both animals and humans. However, most human emotions ⎯ tertiary emotions ⎯ are more complex. “These, though not unusual among our pets, do not exist in the wild. Tertiary emotions are emotions such as love, ambition, pride, self-respect, shame, guilt, inspiration, enthusiasm, sadness, awe, admiration, humility and humiliation, sense of justice and injustice, envy, malice, resentment, cruelty, hatred; one can go on almost …
Parent Emotion Socialization And The Influence On Child Emotion Regulation In A Clinical Sample, Crystal Tracy
Parent Emotion Socialization And The Influence On Child Emotion Regulation In A Clinical Sample, Crystal Tracy
All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study aimed to contribute to existing literature by examining parent emotion socialization (i.e., parent orientation to child emotion) and its influence on child internalizing symptoms. Prior research suggests that parent emotion socialization impacts child emotion regulation and internalizing symptoms; however, there is little research at present focused specifically on the influence of parent orientation to child emotion on child internalizing symptoms through child emotion dysregulation. This study adds to the literature by considering the association between parent orientation to child emotion and internalizing symptoms in a sample of children referred for an ADHD evaluation. Participants included 161 children ages …
Iniciativas Transfronterizas Informe De Border Fellows 2025-2026, Elise Free Ma, Tori Luna Ma, Jonathan De Vicente Encarnación Mtro., Yolanda Viridiana Chávez Flores Dra., Korina Odet Cortés Uribe Dra., Jessie Valcin, Cristina Solano Díaz, Etienne Mulumeoderhwa Mufungizi Dr.
Iniciativas Transfronterizas Informe De Border Fellows 2025-2026, Elise Free Ma, Tori Luna Ma, Jonathan De Vicente Encarnación Mtro., Yolanda Viridiana Chávez Flores Dra., Korina Odet Cortés Uribe Dra., Jessie Valcin, Cristina Solano Díaz, Etienne Mulumeoderhwa Mufungizi Dr.
Kroc IPJ Research and Resources
El Informe Border Fellows 2025–2026 documenta seis proyectos comunitarios realizados en la región Tijuana–San Diego en el marco del Programa Border Fellows del Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. Desde la academia, la sociedad civil y el sector público, las y los fellows abordaron retos distintos atravesados por un mismo contexto: el tráfico de armas y la violencia armada contra mujeres y personas LGBTQIA+; la violencia juvenil y el riesgo suicida en una secundaria pública; la discriminación en una preparatoria federal con más de 4,300 estudiantes; la capacidad organizativa y los derechos lingüísticos de comunidades indígenas en Baja California; el …
Cross-Border Initiatives Border Fellow Report 2025-2026, Elise Free Ma, Tori Luna Ma, Jonathan De Vicente Encarnación Ma, Yolanda Viridiana Chávez Flores Phd, Korina Odet Cortés Uribe Edd, Jessie Valcin, Cristina Solano Díaz, Etienne Mulumeoderhwa Mufungizi Phd
Cross-Border Initiatives Border Fellow Report 2025-2026, Elise Free Ma, Tori Luna Ma, Jonathan De Vicente Encarnación Ma, Yolanda Viridiana Chávez Flores Phd, Korina Odet Cortés Uribe Edd, Jessie Valcin, Cristina Solano Díaz, Etienne Mulumeoderhwa Mufungizi Phd
Kroc IPJ Research and Resources
The 2025–2026 Border Fellows Report documents six community-led projects carried out across the Tijuana–San Diego region under the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice's Border Fellows Program. Working in academia, civil society, and the public sector, the fellows addressed distinct challenges shaped by a common context: firearms trafficking and armed violence against women and LGBTQIA+ people; youth violence and suicide risk in a public middle school; discrimination in a federal preparatory school serving more than 4,300 students; the organizational capacity and language rights of Indigenous communities in Baja California; academic accompaniment for Haitian adolescents excluded from formal schooling; and intercultural …
Impact Of Chronic Stress And Nutrition On Functional Connectivity And Neural Networks In Young Kichwa Children From The Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest, Matthew L. Cook
Impact Of Chronic Stress And Nutrition On Functional Connectivity And Neural Networks In Young Kichwa Children From The Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest, Matthew L. Cook
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present
Early childhood is a critical period for brain development. Positive and negative experiences during this time can have lasting effects on learning, health, and well-being. However, most research on children’s brain development has been conducted in wealthy, industrialized nations, leaving important gaps in our understanding of how children develop in other cultural and environmental contexts.
This study examined brain development in Indigenous Kichwa children living in two rural communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest. The goal was to better understand how chronic stress and nutrition may influence a child’s developing brain during early childhood. Children participated in noninvasive brain assessments …
Challenges To Longevity Among Native Americans In The Four Corner States, Ashley Lenarz
Challenges To Longevity Among Native Americans In The Four Corner States, Ashley Lenarz
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present
Previous research has shown that Native Americans within the Four Corners States of the United States experience poor health outcomes and premature mortality. The Four Corners States include Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. Research examining COVID-19 pandemic outcomes has also suggested that Native peoples within the Four Corners States have been especially hard hit with high rates of infection and mortality. Our research seeks to (1) understand how life expectancy trends and differences changed among non-Hispanic Native Americans and Whites in the Four Corners States during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) examine how much of these trends and differences …
Issue 26: Labour, Poverty, And Health Concerns Of Migrant Women And Girls Working As Kayayei In Ghana's Urban Centres, Comfort Baidoo, Robert Mcleman
Issue 26: Labour, Poverty, And Health Concerns Of Migrant Women And Girls Working As Kayayei In Ghana's Urban Centres, Comfort Baidoo, Robert Mcleman
International Migration Research Centre
Over the past four decades, growing numbers of women and girls have left northern Ghana for the country's cities, drawn by the promise of work, independence, and a chance to support their families. Many end up as kayayei, head porters who carry goods through Accra's crowded markets for a negotiated fee. Their labour keeps the informal economy moving, yet it comes at a steep personal cost: unpredictable earnings, punishing physical strain, unsafe housing, and a healthcare system that too often leaves them out. This brief draws together the available evidence on the economic and health conditions of kayayei in Greater-Accra. …
Content Mapping: An Experimental Analysis Of Missing Message Content, Jeannette Sutton
Content Mapping: An Experimental Analysis Of Missing Message Content, Jeannette Sutton
Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship
The Warning-Response Model recommends the inclusion of five key content areas in warning messages to reduce information seeking that can lead to warning response delay: the message source, hazard (including its impact), affected location, recommended guidance, and time. Research has found that complete messages, that is, those that include all of five recommended content areas, help people make decisions about the protective actions they may take. Unfortunately, a large majority of WEA messages omit information from one or more of the recommended content areas. This study examined the impact of omitting each of the five recommended content areas on message …
Issue 25: Beyond Blame: Gender-Based Violence Prevention And African Diaspora Communities In The Waterloo Region, Halima Ahmed, Valdrin Dragusha, Stella Omonigho, Fadhilah Balogun
Issue 25: Beyond Blame: Gender-Based Violence Prevention And African Diaspora Communities In The Waterloo Region, Halima Ahmed, Valdrin Dragusha, Stella Omonigho, Fadhilah Balogun
International Migration Research Centre
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) remains a critical social, public health, and governance challenge in Canada, particularly for migrant and refugee women (Tastsoglou, 2025). This is increasingly prominent at the local level in the Waterloo Region, particularly for African and racialized diaspora communities navigating settlement, integration, and institutional access. While multi-level governance and frameworks exist at the city, regional, provincial, and federal levels to address GBV, they tend to work in silos, and local implementation gaps persist. The gaps are shaped by cultural stigma, fragmented service delivery, precarious immigration status, formalinformal networks of support, and unequal access to culturally responsive support systems. …
The Price Of Possessiveness: How Parental Materialism Undermines Child Psychological Wellbeing, Miao Li
The Price Of Possessiveness: How Parental Materialism Undermines Child Psychological Wellbeing, Miao Li
Sociology Publications
Materialism, a value system that places the pursuit of possessions at the core of happiness and life meaning, is a dominant cultural force in modern societies. While its associations with individual well-being are well-documented, its intergenerational implications remain understudied. This study conceptualizes materialism as a potential family stressor contributing to the intergenerational transmission of stress. An intergenerational crossover model of materialism was tested using data from 1,996 parent-child pairs in Zhengzhou, China. Results indicate that higher parental materialism is associated with stronger materialistic values in children, weaker family relationships, and more frequent parental comparisons, each of which is linked to …
Rural And Urban Availability Of Substance Use Treatment Facilities, Aaron P. Smith, Tyrone F. Borders
Rural And Urban Availability Of Substance Use Treatment Facilities, Aaron P. Smith, Tyrone F. Borders
Rural & Underserved Health Research Center Publications
Overview of Key Findings
• Rural counties have higher per capita numbers of substance use disorder treatment facilities than urban counties on average, but also greater variability and large pockets of unmet need.
• The highest proportions of residents living in counties without any treatment facilities are concentrated in rural areas within the Midwestern and Southern United States.
• Rural and urban treatment facilities offer medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) at similar rates, with inpatient facilities most likely to provide MOUD, followed by residential and outpatient settings.
When Work Is Not Enough: Food Insecurity Among Employed Latinos Receiving Snap In Massachusetts And The Burden Carried By Latina Women, Phillip Granberry, Rafael M. Pérez Medina, Florita Coto Tristán
When Work Is Not Enough: Food Insecurity Among Employed Latinos Receiving Snap In Massachusetts And The Burden Carried By Latina Women, Phillip Granberry, Rafael M. Pérez Medina, Florita Coto Tristán
Gastón Institute Publications
Across Massachusetts, many SNAP recipients are workers, caregivers, parents, elders, people with disabilities, and families navigating low wages, unstable work schedules, high housing costs, and limited access to wealth building opportunities. Many of these workers held jobs that were labeled “essential” during the COVID-19 pandemic: food service, caregiving, cleaning, healthcare support, retail, transportation, construction, and other service sector jobs. Yet the public recognition of their essential labor has not been translated into adequate wages, benefits, or economic security.
Religious Practice And Attitudes Toward Immigration And Racial Justice In America, Amya Douglas
Religious Practice And Attitudes Toward Immigration And Racial Justice In America, Amya Douglas
Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)
This study aims to understand how Christians’ knowledge of Scripture and involvement in the church have an impact on their social-political views, specifically, racial justice and immigration. By using the survey responses from the 6th wave of the Baylor Religion Survey, more frequent church attendance and reading Scripture were correlated with a greater recognition of racism in terms of being against white supremacy and white nationalism, supporting racial justice when asked about racial gaps, and possessing greater support for immigrants. This study highlights the distinction between religious affiliation and religious practice, and it suggests that certain policy sentiments can be …
Oak Savanna Expansion: Indigenizing Psu's Urban Landscape, Ash Herb
Oak Savanna Expansion: Indigenizing Psu's Urban Landscape, Ash Herb
University Honors Theses
Since time immemorial Indigenous Peoples have resided in what is now named Portland of the Pacific Northwest in the Willamette Valley. For hundreds of years, this forested Land has been colonized, razed to stumps and covered in cement in order to build the urban landscape. Due to such destruction on a broad scale, we are experiencing the results of climate catastrophe. By finding ways to reclaim our relationship with Land and returning to Indigenous epistemologies, our urban landscape has the opportunity to shift towards restoration and prosperity. Indigenous plants have existed here, supporting humans in a reciprocal relationship, for thousands …
Guest Editor’S Introduction: Liah Greenfeld And The Future Of Comparative Civilizational Studies, Monika Monika, Guest Editor
Guest Editor’S Introduction: Liah Greenfeld And The Future Of Comparative Civilizational Studies, Monika Monika, Guest Editor
Comparative Civilizations Review
Every scholarly life leaves behind unfinished questions. Professor Liah Greenfeld was acutely aware of this. Throughout a career spanning more than four decades, her research never settled into the repetition of established arguments. Each major work emerged from the unresolved problems of the previous one, enlarging both the scope of its inquiry and the range of disciplines with which it engaged. Nationalism led her to questions of modernity (Greenfeld, 1992) and the foundations of economic development (Greenfeld, 2001). The growth of the modern economy and the emerging new forces of globalization, in turn, raised broader questions about the self and …
In Memoriam: Liah Greenfeld A Reflection From The President Of The Comparative Civilizations Forum, Bibi Pelić
In Memoriam: Liah Greenfeld A Reflection From The President Of The Comparative Civilizations Forum, Bibi Pelić
Comparative Civilizations Review
It is with sorrow and gratitude that the Comparative Civilizations Forum dedicates this special 2026 Fall issue of the Comparative Civilizations Review to the memory of Professor Liah Greenfeld, who passed away in May of this year.
Professor Liah Greenfeld was a sociologist, an anthropologist, a political scientist — and more than any single label can hold. Across four decades at Harvard and then at Boston University, she built a body of work, from Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity to The Spirit of Capitalism to Mind, Modernity, Madness, that stepped outside the boundaries the modern academy likes to draw. …
Liah Greenfeld: Scholar, Thinker, Friend, Joseph Drew
Liah Greenfeld: Scholar, Thinker, Friend, Joseph Drew
Comparative Civilizations Review
Professor Liah Greenfeld and I met several years ago when she submitted an article to the Comparative Civilizations Review. Her thoughtful demeanor and personal kindness to all were quickly evident, but so, too, was her scholarship, especially her probing theories of state, society, and civilization.
When Your Neighbours Are A Reminder Of Your Ageing, Cynthia Tan, Yi Wen (Chen Yiwen) Tan
When Your Neighbours Are A Reminder Of Your Ageing, Cynthia Tan, Yi Wen (Chen Yiwen) Tan
ROSA Journal Articles and Publications
In a commentary, Cynthia Tan, a retired senior corporate leader, and Tan Yi Wen, a Senior Research Fellow at SMU’s Centre for Research on Successful Ageing (ROSA), questioned whether the low demand for community care apartments is because seniors do not want only other seniors for company. They noted that most older people do not spend their days dwelling on ageing until everyone around them reminds them that they are growing old. They added that prolonged exposure to such an environment may carry subtle emotional and psychological consequences. Citing a national survey by ROSA, the writers mentioned that eight in …
Ssw 701.50: Social Welfare Policy, Ian G. Williams
Ssw 701.50: Social Welfare Policy, Ian G. Williams
Open Educational Resources
This syllabus is an Open Educational Resources (OER) remixed version of SSW 701.50: Social Welfare Policy, which is taught at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. This version updated the content and integrated additional OER materials, as part of the Summer 2026 cohort of The Open Knowledge Fellowship at the Mina Rees Library. It is a Zero-Textbook (ZTC) cost course and integrates materials from a range of academic disciplines. Official course description is as follows:
"This foundation course furnishes you with the orienting knowledge and skills needed to examine social welfare policies and to understand their relevance …
Impunity: A Case Study Of Sex Trafficking In Nevada Brothel Prostitution, Christen Price
Impunity: A Case Study Of Sex Trafficking In Nevada Brothel Prostitution, Christen Price
Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence
It is well-documented that legalization and other forms of official protection for prostitution lead to an increase in sex trafficking, including by encouraging demand for prostitution. This paper will consider the relationship between official protection, organized crime, and sex trafficking in pro-prostitution legal regimes, both historical and contemporary. Prostitution is legal in rural counties in Nevada that have fewer than 700,000 residents, if prostitution occurs within a brothel. There is significant overlap between sex trafficking and legal brothel prostitution in Nevada, as well as a nexus to corruption and organized crime, illustrating the normalization of coercion that occurs within legalized …
The Confluence Of Conflict-Induced Vulnerability, Organized Crime, And Sex Trafficking In Receiving States: A South African Civil Society Perspective, Monique Emser
Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence
The crime-conflict nexus has been well-documented in conflict-affected and post-conflict states. Criminal networks make use of manifold methods and strategies to exploit individual and structural vulnerabilities, particularly those affected by war, displacement, and precarious migration journeys, forming the backbone of most conflict-induced trafficking ecosystems, whether in countries of origin, transit, or receipt. This article examines the intersection of sex trafficking, diaspora communities, and organized crime within South Africa as a receiving state from a civil society perspective. It underscores the deficiencies in traditional, reductionist, enforcement-based approaches to counter-trafficking by the state, where nested subsystems, such as those produced by endemic …
Leveraging Technology To Measure The Strength Of Demand For Commercial And Trafficked Sex, Michael D. Shively, Bob Rodgers, Courtney Furlong, Brooke Ruffin
Leveraging Technology To Measure The Strength Of Demand For Commercial And Trafficked Sex, Michael D. Shively, Bob Rodgers, Courtney Furlong, Brooke Ruffin
Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence
The article examines Transaction Intercept (TI), an artificial‑intelligence platform designed to reduce sex trafficking by disrupting the revenue streams that draw organized crime into the market. Transaction Intercept deploys decoy online ads that appear to offer commercial sexual exploitation or prostitution. Automated "decoy" personas connect to individuals who click on these ads and engage them in text conversations. These exchanges can remain fully automated, ending with deterrence messages, or be transferred to police for potential enforcement action or to trained volunteers who attempt to discourage further attempts to buy sex. Transaction Intercept generates extensive, real‑time data on local demand for …
Behind The Screen: Online Sex Buyer Networks And The Organized Criminal Promotion Of Exploitation, Ava Kamdem, Vanessa Bouché, Ben Silver, Nick Freeman, Justin Euteneier
Behind The Screen: Online Sex Buyer Networks And The Organized Criminal Promotion Of Exploitation, Ava Kamdem, Vanessa Bouché, Ben Silver, Nick Freeman, Justin Euteneier
Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence
This study investigates the extent to which online sex buyer communities in the United States function as organized criminal networks pursuant to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime’s definition of organized criminal groups. Drawing from theories of organized crime, social network analysis, and digital ecosystems, we conceptualize sex buyers not as isolated actors but as participants in coordinated, mutually reinforcing networks that share information to facilitate exploitation, mitigate risk, and sustain criminal behavior. To test this framework, we scraped over 1.2 million posts from a publicly accessible sex buyer forum, comprising 72,974 unique users and nearly 800,000 direct …